Hunters checked 16,049 birds during the four weeks of the 2015 wild turkey season. Young hunters checked 1,589 birds during the 2015 youth season, in the two days prior to the main season.

Wild turkeys were extirpated in Ohio by 1904 and were reintroduced in the 1950s by the ODNR Division of Wildlife.

Ohio’s first modern day wild turkey season opened in 1966 in nine counties, and hunters checked 12 birds.

The wild turkey harvest topped 1,000 for the first time in 1984. Spring turkey hunting opened statewide in 2000, and Ohio hunters checked more than 20,000 wild turkeys for the first time that year.

The ODNR said they ensure a balance between wise use and protection of natural resources for the benefit of all.

To help them in this aim, they are asking the public to participate in the surveying of wild turkeys and ruffed grouse by reporting sightings of these two iconic Ohio game birds.

The brood survey relies on the public to report observations of all wild turkeys and ruffed grouse seen during May, June, July and August.

Information submitted to the brood survey helps to predict future wild turkey populations and also guide the state’s hunting regulations.

More than 6,000 turkeys were reported during the 2014 survey, with an average of 1.76 young turkeys (poults) per adult hen turkey. This average was lower than the long-term average of 2.5 poults per adult hen.

Biologists began tracking summer observations of wild turkeys in 1962. Ruffed grouse were added to the survey in 1999.